National Corvette Museum officials have called a press conference for Thursday at 3:00 pm. Executive Director Wendell Strode is expected to discuss plans moving forward such as removal of the cars inside the sinkhole and repairs to the Skydome. WKU Public Radio will have someone there and will bring you the latest during All Things Considered.

National Corvette Museum photo

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Bowling Green contractor Scott, Murphy and Daniel has been retained as the construction engineer by the National Corvette Museum to help recover and rebuild following the damage caused by Wednesday morning's sinkhole. Eight classic Corvettes fell into the 25 foot deep by 40 foot wide hole.

Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode said that firm will help devise a plan to recover the cars and save any if possible. And while safety is the top priority, Strode said they want to save the cars "as fast as we can." Strode told the Bowling Green Daily News that he was told by someone at the scene that the cars in the sinkhole had an estimated total value of $1 million.

Strode said he was confident the contracting firm could complete its work by the end of August, in time for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Museum and the projected opening of the NCM Motorsports Park.

Security footage from inside the SkyDome at the time of the sinkhole collapse shows the floor sagging suddenly, with pieces of the floor collapsing and a couple of the cars disappearing below ground.

Video footage, including surveillance footage of the sinkhole collapse, helicopter drone footage inside the sinkhole and more are available at the link below.

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The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green will re-open to the public Thursday after a sinkhole collapse swallowed up eight of the iconic vehicles.

The collapse happened shortly after 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. The Bowling Green Fire Department responded to an alarm triggered by the sinkhole.

Security cameras at the museum captured the collapse, which took place in the Skydome portion of the facility where the museum shows off some of its most invaluable vehicles. Six of the Corvettes that fell into the sinkhole are owned by the museum, with the other two on loan from General Motors.

According to a news release by the museum, all cars on display in the Skydome not affected by the sinkhole have been safely removed from the area. That same release also said a structural engineering firm at the site has determined that the perimeter of the Skydome is stable.

Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode estimated the hole that opened up at the facility is 25 to 30 feet deep and 40 feet wide.

The sinkhole didn't come as a shock to WKU Geology Professor Jason Polk, who says recent rainfall may have played a role in Wednesday's collapse.

A visit with Mitch Wright about the future Motorsports Park adjacent to the Corvette Museum

The last three months have been full of good news for the 2014 Corvette Stingray. In November it was named Automobile Magazine’s Car of the Year, followed the next month by the same honors from Autoweek. Monday, it was named the Car of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

It’s a car with a long and storied past – and no place is that more celebrated than at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. In August, the museum will celebrate its 20th anniversary. As part of the celebration, the Corvette Museum will open a new Motorsports Park featuring a 3.1 mile road course on 184 acres just across the highway from the museum.

Leading the planning for the track is Motorsports Park General Manager Mitch Wright – a former professional race car driver-turn-motorsports park operator, who’s been behind the wheel for most of his life.

“I started quite young – I was 11 years old when I started racing go-carts,” said Wright. “From as far back as I can remember, I wanted to race…I wanted to race something.”